“Thursday’s about-face sounded alarms about a global slowdown that caught officials off guard.” On Thursday, the ECB “unveiled a new economic rescue package, citing a darkening outlook driven by a slowdown in China, fears that the United Kingdom will make a chaotic exit from the European Union and aftershocks from President Trump’s tariff wars.”

“With no deal in sight as Britain’s March 29 exit date approaches, supermarkets are stockpiling, working on alternative supplies and testing new routes to cope with an expected logjam at the borders but say they face insurmountable barriers.” One of the biggest is that you simply can’t stockpile fresh produce and other perishables. “Intense competition and slim margins in the British supermarket sector have also made contingency planning more complicated.”

“Drawn by generous incentives and the opportunity to sell directly into a unifying Europe, the car industry became a poster child for inward investment.” Now the survival of this industry in the UK is at stake. Honda’s scheduled plant closing “comes after last month’s announcement of up to 4,500 job losses at Jaguar Land Rover and news that Nissan’s new X-Trail model is to be made in Japan, not Sunderland.” Furthermore, “Toyota and Ford have warned of negative consequences in the case of Britain editing the European Union without a negotiated deal.”

“The British Pound is under pressure ahead of the weekend, holding the title of the worst-performing major G10 currency over the course of the past five trading days. Losses come as the government suffered a symbolic defeat…with pro-Brexit MPs voting against a motion tabled by the government.”

“Official figures from the Dutch investment agency show 42 companies relocated to the Netherlands last year citing Brexit as the reason. The investment has resulted in 1,923 jobs and €290m in investment. Sony and Panasonic have also announced plans to set up their European headquarters in the country.” But the good news may not last. “The Netherlands is likely to be one of the biggest EU losers from a hard Brexit given the close trading links between the two countries especially in fresh produce and the importance of Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest port, to British trade.”

“GDP growth slipped to its lowest since 2012, at 1.4%, down from 1.8% in 2017.” The UK’s dismal performance in 2018 gave the lie to “Philip Hammond’s claim that Britain can reap an economic dividend from Theresa May’s Brexit deal…as official figures confirmed the UK has suffered its worst year for GDP growth since 2012.”

“Food shortages, sky-rocketing cheese prices, grounded airplanes, traffic jams, riots and yes, a repurposed Cold War-era emergency exit route for Buckingham Palace’s most famous 92-year-old wearer of colorful big hats, are just some of the warnings being sounded in Britain if the nation leaves the bloc it joined 46 years ago without securing a withdrawal deal with the EU that’s also acceptable to British lawmakers.”

“In the eyes of businesses, the UK has come to resemble an emerging market” with concerns about “political volatility, consistent market uncertainty, an unpredictable and fluctuating currency, and supply chain issues”…. Regardless of where the current Brexit talks lead, these issues plaguing the UK are likely to remain for years.”

In the UK, “Surveyors and estate agents reckon the housing market outlook over the next three months is the worst for 20 years….. It’s the most downbeat reading since records started in October 1998 and the pessimism is blamed on the lack of clarity around Brexit.”